Tubular heat-interchanging apparatus.



W. J. STILL. TUBULAR HEAT INTERCHANGING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED APR. 4. 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Tm: CDLUMBIA PLANOURAPH c0., WASHINGTON, D. c

Patented Feb. 15, 1916.

W. J. STILL.

TUBULAR HEAT INTERCHANGING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED AFR-4.1914.

Patented Feb. 15, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM JOSEPH STILL, OF WEST EALING, ENGLAND.

TUBULAR HEAT-INTERCHAN GING APPARATUS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WVILLIAM J OSEPH STILL, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Vest Ealing, in the county of Middlesex, England, have invented Improvements in or Relating to Tubular Heat-Interchanging Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to heat interchanging apparatus wherein gilled or other tubes are connected to headers and it has for its object to so arrange the apparatus that head'- ers can be used to build up apparatus involving a large number of tubes with the ad-. vantage of being able to remove a few of the tubes with a companion header as a unit without affecting the remainder. Thus, by connecting say three tubes ,to a header having a lateral opening or branch, a number of the said headers can be connected by the lateral openings or branches to the lower drum or part of a steam generator, the ends of the tubes opposite to the header jbeing connected to an upper drum or part of the generator. In a case of this kind, gills or flanges can be secured to the tubes simultaneously with connec tion of the tubes to the headers by hydraulic pressure. The headers may be connected to the lower drum or part of the generator by horizontal tubes expanded in place by a tool passed through a hole in each header that is afterward closed by a screw plug. Thelower drum may be connected to the upper drum by another set of tubes. I

The accompanying drawings illustrate two steam generator constructions according to the invention, Figure 1 being a part sectional elevation and Fig. 2 a part sectional underside view, the section being taken on the line A A of Fig. 1, of one form suitable for use as a launch boiler and Fig. 3 being a part sectional elevation and Fig. at a part sectional-plan on the line B B of Fig. 3 showing another form of steam generator also suitable for use as a launch boiler.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, gilled tubes a are connected, in sets of three, to a header 6 having a lateral opening at c by which it can be connected to an annular water trunk (Z by a tube 6 expanded in any suitable way Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb, 15 1916,

Application med April 4, 1914. Serial No. 829,458.

in the header and trunk,'as by introduction of a tool through a normally plugged opening'at f. The upper ends of: the tubes a extend through a tube plate or wall 9 of a steam and water drum or receiver h and each tube may be expanded into contact with the header 6, the gills 2' and the plate 5 simultaneously by hydraulic pressure as for example by the method and apparatus described in thespecification of British Patent No; 23176 of 1912, granted to me and another.

plain tubes j arranged nearer the center of the steam generator than the gilled tubes'a the tubes 7' and trunk forming a downward extension of a water receiver of whichthe drum it forms the upper part. This steam generator is adapted to be heated by flame as from a burner at m arranged below the central space n surrounded by the tubes at and 7'. It may however be otherwise heated as by hot products of combustion led into such central space from any other source.

In Figs. 3 and 4, the steam generator is modified by expanding the tubes 6 of the several headers into a cylindrical downcomer is common to them and forming a downward extension or part of the upper steam and water drum or receiver h, the arrangement in other respects being similar to that of Figs. 1 and 2 except that the three gilled tubes aassociated with each header?) are combined with two plain tubes 0. This steam generator is specially adapted to be heated by hot gases, such as hot prod- The trunk (Z and drum h are shown as connected by an annular series of nets of combustion, coming from any available source and entering the annular space n of the generator through the lateral passage p, the water circulating in the direction of t .e arrows.

In each construction 1' is the casing ofthe boiler and s the uptake for products ofcombustion, the sets of tubes a and headers I) being arranged in an annular manner in the space between the upper and lowerconnected portion of the water receiver to which the tubes and headers are respectively connected and the casing of the'boiler.

By constructing steam generators in the manner hereinbefore described, water can circulate freely through the tubes and the upper and lower portions of the steam and water receivers and steam generated in the tubes a or a and 0 can freely rise-through the water in these tubes and pass easily and without obstruction direct into the upper steam and water vessel so as to avoid any possibility of its depressing the water in-the tubes and thus permitting of the tubes beingoverheated and damaged as results with many constructions of tubular steam generators heretofore proposed comprising upper and lower water chambers, vertical water tubes and connections between these parts.

hat I claim is 1- 7 i,

1. Heat interchanging apparatus comprising a water receiver having an enlarged upper drum-like portion adapted to serveas a water and steam drum and a downwardly extending portion of smaller cross section than the upper portion and through which water can freely flow in a vertical direction, tubes connected directly to the bottom of the enlarged upper portion of the receiver and extending downwardly toward and terminating near to the bottom of the downwardly extending portion of the receiver, headers connecting such tubes at their oppositeand lower ends in sets and tubes connecting said headers to the clownwardly extending portion of the receiver near to the bottom thereof.

2. Heat interchanging apparatus comprising a water receiver having an enlarged upper drum-like portion, adapted to serve as a water and steam drum and a downwardly extending portion of smaller cross section than the upper portion and through which water can freely flow in a vertical direction, straight vertically arranged tubes connected directly to the bottom of the enlarged upper portion of the receiver and extending downwardly toward and terminating around and near to the bottom of the downwardly extending portion of the receiver, headers connecting such tubes at their opposite and lower ends in sets and straight horizontal tubes connecting said header to the downwardly extending portion of the receiver near to the bottom thereof.

3. Heat interchanging apparatus comprising a receiver in the form of an upper steam and water drum having a central downcomer of smaller diameter, tubes surrounding the said downcomer and extending through and connected directly to the bottom of the upper drum, headers connecting downcomer, a series of plain tubes disposed between the gilled tubes and the downcomer, all of said tubes extending through and connected directly to the bottom of the upper drum, headers connecting a number of gilled and of plain tubes in sets and a tube connecting each header laterally to the lower end portion of the downcomer.

5. In heat interchanging apparatus embodying a receiver and a number of tubes arranged to be connected direct to such receiver at different levels, a series of headers each having a series of openings in its upperwall adapted to receive some of the tubes and in each of its opposed vertical walls ahorizontal opening, one such opening being adapted to receive a tube for connecting the header to the lower end portion of the receiver and the other opening being provided with a removable plug adapted to permit the entry of a tool. for expanding the single tube aforesaid into the header and receiver.

6. Heat interchanging apparatus comprising a receiver consisting of an upper portion. constituting a steam and water drum and a lower portion of smaller cross section than the upper portion, constituting a water downcomer. a casing around the said lower portion of thereceiver, an annular series of headers arranged around but at a distance from the lower portion of said downcomer, sets of vertical tubes arranged,

inlet passage for hot'gases communicating with the bottom of said space and an exit flue for spent gases.

7. Heat interchanging apparatus comprising a receiver consisting of an upper portion constituting a steam and water drum and a lower portion of smaller cross section than the upper-portion, constituting a water downcomer, a casing around the said lower portion of the receiver, an annularseries of headers arranged around but at a distance from the lower portion ofsaid downcomer and from said casing, vertical sets of plain and gilled tubes connected, directly to the bottom of the steam and water drum and arranged annularlybetween said downcomer and casing so as to form an inner annular space between them and the downcomer and an outer space between them and the casing, the gilled tubes being arranged farthest from the downcomer, and the inner space being closed at the top and the outer space being in communication with a fine or chimney, tubes each connecting a space and an uptake flue in communication header laterally to the lower portion of the with the outer space. 10 downcomer and extending across the lower Signed at London England this 23d day end of the inner space between the tubes and of March 1914.

downcomer, a support for said receiver, WILLIAM JOSEPH STILL. headers and easing having an inlet passage Witnesses:

for hot gases to the inner space and ar- 0. J. WORTH,

ranged to close the lower end of the outer ALBERT V. C. NEWTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. C. v 

